Op-Ed: Lucas Matthysse could be Manny Pacquiao's next foe after Rios

Argentine boxing sensation Lucas Matthysse has made public his intention to face Manny Pacquiao soon following his third round knockout win over Lamont Peterson Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

"Matthysse, nicknamed "the Machine", tore through Peterson inside three rounds at Boardwalk Hall, dropping him on multiple occasions as his lethal left hook landed with alarming accuracy for future rivals," ESPN writes.

Matthysse expressed his preference to face Pacquiao after Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) said that Matthysse is the new Manny Pacquiao as he hailed the Argentine after his victory over Lamont Peterson.

"We have a new Manny Pacquiao. He's from Argentina, and his name is Lucas Matthysse," Schaefer said. "What he did, he did at the highest level of the sport."

But Matthysse later said that while he feels happy of the comparison, he actually wants to fight the Filipino star.

"I feel very happy that people are comparing me to Manny Pacquiao," Matthysse said. "But what I really want to do is fight him."

But Matthysse looks like he is programmed by his promoters to face Danny Garcia, also a contract fighter of GBP, for his next fight tentatively set for Sept.7. Garcia was seen during the fight at Boardwalk over the weekend.

"You can't underestimate Danny Garcia," Schaefer said. "That's the fight that I want to do and I'm going to work very hard to make sure it happens and that's the kind of event that we want to put on and I know Lucas is ready."

A date with Pacquiao seems almost impossible to happen in the short term as the eight-division world champion is still under contract with Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions (TRP). Everyone knows that TRP is not in good terms with rival promoter GBP.

Unless these two warring promoters settle their differences and intense business rivalry, any match involving fighters under their contract is almost dead even before they talk about it in the negotiating table. This is the reason why Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have failed to face each other for the last three years amid constant prodding by fight fans.

But there are rumors swirling around that Pacquiao's contract with Arum is due to expire very soon and if he refuses to renew, Pacquiao won't run out of worthy opponents who are under contract with GBP, including Matthysse.

This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com